THQ combines music with combat

THQ has today announced Band Mashups, an all-new game in the rhythm action genre for Wii.

Band Mashups will allow players to battle it out using their preferred musical style, either in a two-player versus mode or an extensive single-player campaign. Players take the role of one of eleven bands trying to topple the big boss, Mr. Hong, and take control of the faraway city of New Cadenza.

Fully utilising the Wii Remote's motion sensing capabilities Band Mashups promises a unique gameplay experience, with players using 70 over the top musical instrument weapons. These include a sniper violin and a flame throwing guitar.

The game features five music styles - rock, funk/hip-hop, country, marching band and Latin - and 30 classic and modern chart-topping hits, each recorded in the five music styles. This creates a total of 150 playable songs in the game.

Band Mashups also introduces the concept of "music switching", which puts the player winning the battle in control of the style of music both players hear. If the battle then swings in favour of the other player the music style will switch too.

With Guitar Hero and Rock Band proving a big hit, music-based titles appear to be the in thing. Gamers will find out if Band Mashups is the real deal when it hits stores this April.